Maggiesdal residents allowed to stay on – for now
The issues around a planned "parliamentary village" and housing at Maggiesdal becomes murkier by the day.
MBOMBELA – The City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) no longer expects tenants to vacate their properties by March 31, as they were previously notified, but has refused to provide clarity on what will happen next.
Municipal spokesman, Mr Joseph Ngala, informed Lowvelder of this on March 1, but DA councillor for the ward, Ms Tersia Marshall, confirmed this week that the residents had not been formally notified that they may stay on.
Lowvelder recently reported that 52 tenants’ leases with CMLM had been terminated, and they would have to leave their properties by the end of the month to make way for the construction of a parliamentary village.
Also see: IN PHOTOS: Where will Maggiesdal residents go?
Finance MEC, Mr Sikhumbuzo Eric Kholwane, announced the village last year as an investment and cost-cutting measure to provide MPLs with housing in the city.
Most residents of Maggiesdal, located on the R40 towards Barberton, cannot afford to move elsewhere, and many of them felt they were being treated unfairly.
A new deadline date is to be communicated to the tenants. Yet the extension of the tenants’ contracts has raised doubts about the parliamentary village’s construction. It is also being alleged that nearly all of the residents are behind in their rental payments, some by tens of thousands of rand.
A list of tenants’ rental details provided to the paper shows amounts in arrears ranging from R3 000 to more than R100 000. However, the list is not dated.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said very few people regularly paid rent. “People want to live here for free. The municipality cannot afford to fund these people’s lives, but it is unfair for those of us who pay our rent. We shouldn’t be punished,” she said.
Also read: Maggiesdal huurders uitgesit
Prior to the leases’ extension, Marshall put a motion to council that it assists the residents to acquire alternative accommodation and to specifically help the frail, elderly, and disabled. It was denied. “The residents are in dire straits and cannot find alternative accommodation due to the lack of (affordable) housing in the (municipality),” she said.
Ngala said the tenants could apply for low-cost subsidised housing to be considered if a house became available. The provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport did not answer the newspaper’s questions.
